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Emphasizing service to humanity expands the role of art to greater capacities and creates a new level of applicability in the world. My art and teaching philosophy is informed by several related principles.

All things in creation have a fundamental purpose; to foster moral well-being and promote harmony and unity. This is true not only at a micro level of developing unity within a composition, but it is an essential aspect of the foundation of artistic purpose.

Beauty is a means to a higher end. Through its attracting power, one is drawn into a loving state of being, gains a heightened awareness of the spiritual facets of humanity, hence a deeper knowledge of one's inner most self. This process facilitates spiritual growth. As humans, we must continually strive to progress not only in a physical capacity but also mental and spiritual.  These capacities are often synonymous with the technical and the conceptual respectively.

With that said, pleasure is inherent in the appreciation of anything well made, but to yield pleasure is not the highest end of art. The artist's highest aspiration is to serve humanity, thus his Beloved. The artist is a kind of educator who seeks to help ennoble the hearts of those who partake of his/her art, and to insight gleanings and reflections from its content.

Morality does not need to be openly proclaimed in art. Its presence may be subtle. However, the artist who fails to merely consider the moral implications of his work, and the moral effect it may have on society, is failing in his/her responsibility to the world he/she serves. Freedom of expression is a basic human right. But in the arts it should be combined with a sense of moral/spiritual responsibility. Self-expression in art is not an end in itself, or even a means to an end. It is simply an adjunct of service.

The belief in the creation of art as an internal, even spiritual, process and a recognition of the duality of the human existence, physical and incorporeal, are crucial components to this philosophy and have had a direct impact in my students work as well as my own. These principles can also provide a solid foundation for students, artists and art historians of today with an inclusive outlook (outward orientation) on the art world of the future.